Xu Sheng 徐盛
Xu Sheng 徐盛 built a fake wall that spanned hundreds of li to scare off the forces of Wei during the battle of Guangling. Biography Suffering from the chaos in his home, Xu Sheng fled to Wu to seek refuge. In 200 A.D. after his brother died, Sun Quan assumed control of the forces in the territory of Wu; at that time, Xu Sheng was made a Senior Major, given a command of 500 people, and appointed Chief of Chaisang (柴桑) to defend against Huang Zu to the west. Huang Zu's son, Huang She, brought a force of several 1,000 to attack Sheng. At that time, Sheng had fewer than 200 soldiers with him, so he remained behind his walls and let the enemy besiege him. The siege went poorly for Huang She's forces as over 1,000 of his men had been wounded in the attack; Huang She then turned to withdraw, but Sheng threw open the city gates and charged after him, dealing a crushing blow to the retreating army. Huang She disappeared after the defeat, not wanting to show himself to his father, and turned to banditry. Sun Quan promoted Xu Sheng to Colonel and appointed him as county magistrate of Wuhu (蕪湖). Xu Sheng then led a punitive campaign against the mountain bandits of Lincheng (臨城) and was appointed as General of the Gentlemen of the Household with the responsibility of supervising the training of soldiers. In 215 A.D., Xu Sheng participated in the battle of Hefei. The whole affair was a disaster for the Wu forces and Xu Sheng did not fare particularly well in the attack either. The Wei general, Zhang Liao launched a devastating surprise attack on the Wu forces and Xu Sheng's unit was routed. Another Wu general, Pan Zhang, rode up and beheaded one of Sheng's men in order to keep his forces in line.SGZ: Biography of Pan Zhang. In 217 A.D., Cao Cao attacked Ruxu (濡須) a second time; the Wei forces planned on coming down the Heng river (橫江), so Sheng was sent to stop their advance. Sheng was sailing in an Armoured Breaker (蒙衝)A type of warship. Huang Zu uses a pair of these to blockade the Mian river in 203 A.D., so they are likely some form of floating fortress.de Crespigny. Generals of the South, Chapter 4, when the fleet was struck by violent winds. The ships were dashed onto the enemy shores and the Wu forces panicked, none of the generals dared leave their boats. Only Xu Sheng took the initiative, he suddenly attacked the enemy forces, routing them. The enemy retreated to tend to their injured and, as the winds calmed down, the fleet was able to launch from the shore. Sun Quan praised Xu Sheng's efforts. In 221 A.D., Sun Quan sought to establish an alliance with Cao Pi because he feared the retribution of Liu Bei regarding the death of his general, Guan Yu. Cao Pi dispatched Xing Zhen to informed Sun Quan that Cao Pi had made him King of Wu. Sun Quan came out of his palace to greet Xing Zhen as a sign of respect, yet Xing Zhen behaved arrogantly. Both Xu Sheng and Zhang Zhao were furious at Zhen's impudence and Sheng said: "You and I are unable to exert our strength to the utmost in the interest of the State, neither have we annexed Xuchang and Luoyang nor have we conquered Ba and Shu; instead we let our Sovereign conclude a covenant with Xing Zhen. What a shame!" And then he wept. When Xing Zhen heard, he was worried and said: "If JiangdongEast of the Jiang (Yangzi) river, i.e. Wu has a general and minister like this, it will not remain long in a subordinate position."Sun Quan sent tribute to Cao Pi when he became Emperor to show he was "loyal" and Cao Pi made Sun Quan a King because he thought it would make Sun Quan a subordinate to him.Fang. Chapter 2 in The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms Xu Sheng was later made General Who Manifests Majesty, enfeoffed as Marquis of a Chief Village, appointed Grand Administrator of Lujiang and Lincheng county was added to his fief. As expected, Liu Bei attacked Xiling (西陵) seeking retribution for Guan Yu's death. Xu Sheng attacked and destroyed several of Liu Bei's camps, earning great merit. The following year, Cao Pi attacked Wu on three fronts. Cao Xiu led the attack against Dongkou (洞口) against Xu Sheng and Quan Cong, who were under the command of Lü Fan.SGZ: Biography of Lü Fan. It must have seemed like déjà vu for Xu Sheng as disaster struck the Wu forces and a freak storm dashed their fleet against the northern shore, thousands of soldiers being captured or killed.SGZ: Biography of Sun Quan. Xu Sheng collected the remaining soldiers and arrayed them along the banks of the Yangzi river as Cao Xiu led his fleet on the attack. Cao Xiu then dispatched Zang Ba with 500 light boats and 10,000 shock troops to assail Xuling (徐陵). Despite the numerical disadvantage, Xu Sheng and Quan Cong were able to repel the enemy at the southern bank. And Quan Cong even managed to behead the Wei general Yin Lu and killed or captured several 100 soldier.SGZ: Biography of Sun Quan.SGZ: Biography of Quan Cong. Xu Sheng was promoted to General Who Gives Tranquility to the East and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuhu. Since Cao Pi had taken the throne, he had longed to destroy Wu; he had already made one large-scale attack which ended unsuccessfully and in 224 A.D., was eager to try again. The Wei army came in force and the Wu soldiers were scared, yet Xu Sheng devised a cunning ploy to deter the Wei forces, he started constructing a makeshift wall all along the bank of the Yangzi. Xu Sheng constructed a wooden frame and made false walls from rush and reeds; he built numerous false towers behind it, and then lined the river with Wu boats. Many of the generals thought Xu Sheng was wasting his time with this little facade, but Sheng paid no notice to them and continued with his endeavour.SGZ: Annals of Jin quoted in Biography of Sun Quan. The following morning when Cao Pi looked out across the Jiang, he was stunned by the extensive fortifications that ran for several hundreds of li along the river from Shitou (石頭) to Yujiang (于江). Unable to see any advantage in battle, Cao Pi withdrew his forces; the doubting generals now all acknowledged Xu Sheng's plan.SGZ: Annals of Jin quoted in Biography of Sun Quan. During the Huangwu reign years (224-228 A.D.)The battle against Cao Pi at Guangling occurred in 224 A.D., so it would be sometime after that year., Xu Sheng passed away. Family Sons * Xu Kai (徐楷) - Inherited Xu Sheng's rank and troops after his death. Notes Fact vs. Fiction Historically… *… References Sources